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Chevy EN-V 2.0 coming to Tianjin Eco-City in China

Chevrolet is bringing its EN-V 2.0 to the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in China to show off the "Electric Networked-Vehicle" and demonstrate sustainable urban mobility. The small, two-seat EV concept is an updated version of the original EN-V, a vision of getting around in a future world where space is at a premium and clean air is a priority. So what better place to showcase the evolved EN-V than at the Tianjin Eco-City? The Eco-City is being developed as a planned urban space with eco-consciousness built in. The joint venture between China and Singapore offers an alternative to country living and smog-filled cities. Tianjin Eco-City, slated to be completed by 2020, will be able to offer 350,000 inhabitants clean air and water, renewable energy, green transportation and living spaces and, if all goes as planned, jobs for 50 percent of the residents. Currently, only about three square kilometers of the planned 30 square kilometers have been built, with only about 6,000 permanent residents, but there's still time. The EN-V 2.0, as the "Networked" part of its name suggests, not only features mobile internet, but can communicate with other cars around it. Along with GPS and built-in sensors, this connection between vehicles allows the car to drive autonomously (at least in theory - again, there's still time). This is ideal in an urban environment where congestion can be a major issue. The EN-V 2.0 improves upon the original concept with climate control, storage space and all-weather capability, which also make life more bearable and daily commuting possible. We first saw renderings of the updated vehicle in 2012. The Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 will be used in the Eco-City's National Animation Industry Park and Eco-Business Park of the course of the two-week demonstration. Read on below for more in the press release from GM. GM to Demonstrate Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 in Tianjin Eco-City SHANGHAI – General Motors today announced that it will begin demonstrating the Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 (Electric Networked-Vehicle) in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City this week, signaling the company's learning and progress in sustainable urban mobility. The demonstration will help GM further understand consumers' usage of low-speed transportation tools for their daily commute. During the two-week demonstration period, the EN-V 2.0s will be used in the National Animation Industry Park and Eco-Business Park inside the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

Chevy might've pulled out of NASCAR if it weren't for new Gen 6 car

We've been on the fence with NASCAR for some time now. On one hand, it's some of the closest racing anywhere in motorsports, with actual passing and door-handle-to-door-handle action as a matter of course. But on the other, it's become template racing - a personality-driven sport more about the drivers than any sort of loyalty to a particular automaker. The Car Of Tomorrow format really rammed that message home, with a racecar's identity coming down to little more than headlamp stickers slapped on the nose. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we've wondered for some time what's in it for the automakers, who pay big money to stay in a series that has had little increasingly little do with street car sales, let alone innovation.
Apparently General Motors was beginning to wonder the same thing. In a new ESPN report, Rick Hendrick, team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, suggests that GM would have seriously considered leaving NASCAR if it wasn't for the move away from the COT to the new Gen 6 racer. According to Hendrick, GM North America boss Mark Reuss spearheaded the charge away from the 2007 COT and toward a racecar with clearer automaker ties - cars like the new Chevrolet SS racer shown above. Learn more about the fight for a closer-to-production look in the ESPN story at the link.
Now, if we could just get more rear-wheel drive V8 coupes into showrooms....

Here's why automakers roll out those Texas-themed pickup trucks

Every year, automakers with a full-size truck link make a big show of the Texas State Fair, usually involving a reveal of a new model. Sometimes they show a whole new truck, and other times a special edition centered on the Lone Star state. While some people might write this off as a quirk of the industry, others might be wondering, "What's the big deal with Texas?" As it turns out, part of the big deal with Texas is big truck sales. According to Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at AutoPacific, Texas buys more trucks than any other state in the country. It's not a small margin either. Edmunds.com, one in five trucks sold in the US are sold in Texas. The state also accounts for 15 percent of the country's large truck sales, which is more than twice that of California, the second largest truck market in America. Even when you break down sales only in Texas, trucks are a huge piece of the pie - Sullivan says that a quarter of new vehicle sales in Texas are trucks. One in five trucks sold in the US are sold in Texas. But it's not just sales that make truck builders give attention to Texas. As Sullivan explained, "Pickups are life in Texas." Both he and Hugh Milne, marketing and advertising manager for the Chevy Silverado line, said that trucks are key fixtures in Texas society, as both work trucks and luxury vehicles (or Texas Cadillacs as Milne called them). Milne said Texas is so important in the truck market that if you want to be successful in the rest of the country, "you've got to be successful in Texas." As for the State Fair, it has become a prime location for reveals in part because of the importance of the Texas market and because of how big the fair is. Milne also revealed that the State Fair also hosts its own auto show, so it's an ideal venue for a vehicle introduction. So there you have it. Why do truck builders obsess over Texas? It's because Texas obsesses over trucks. When you have one market that loves your product that much, you give it the attention it deserves. Related Video: Image Credit: Donovan Reese via Getty Images Auto News Marketing/Advertising Chevrolet Ford RAM Truck f-150 texas state fair